Worst horse fall

Whats the worst horse fall you have ever had?

I've been reasonably lucky (touch wood ) and I havent broken anything when riding but I've had a few bad falls ,i've been bucked into an arena wall (probably my worst fall) ,my horse likes to buck when canter bareback (he gets excited) so i have fallen off a few times when he does this . I've fallen off over fences once or twice but nothing too serious .

Overall in my 7 years of riding I have fallen off 14 times

what about you guys? whats the worst fall you've had and how many times have you fallen off?

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'Freinds are like stars ,you can't always see them but you know they're there' Love you Fin :)

Re: Worst horse fall

yhe first time i rode a horse or pony it spooked at a pig and threw me off but got straight back on. i waz a brave little kid. then my first loan pony i got his owner was a 'riding instructer' and whenever she left he would rear and buck and once i was doing balance exersized no neins no stirrups hand on shoulders and he starts rearing and bucking then she says " hold on". there have been many others includeing horses freaking out but that was by far my most rememerable!

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I have come off a few times but my previous loan horse was determined to loose me and had me off 3 times in as many weeks - the first time was just flat on my back in the school (mildy concussed), the second time was when I was somersaulted into a blackberry bush out hacking (knocked out) while she bu**ered off home and the third time was in the school again - I landed on my feet, but felt I had hurt my knee. Turned out my leg was broken but they didn't discover it for 9 weeks, so I was walking around on it (I TOLD them it hurt!)

The worst fall I know about was my really good friend, who just left with two other ladies one beautiful Saturday morning for a hack. I was back at the yard with above mentioned mare , in her stable round the back. I went to have a word with someone watching their daughter in the school and she said "Isn't it awful about H?" (friend's horse) "What about her?" I said. She had dropped down dead and fallen onto my friend! She had crushed her leg and ankle. It was an air ambulance job and over a year of surgeries, metal pins etc for my friend. She is just now talking about riding again one day, 18 months on but I don't think it is a good idea as her leg hasn't healed properly and her ankle contains 50 metal pins!

She does go to the yard now and again and gives my H a brush and a few carrots. So sad; she loved her mare and it was a dreadful, dreadful thing to happen.

One thing - good advert for hi-viz - it was the only way the air ambulance saw them!!

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Don't know how many times, thankfully not too much but def the worst for me was six years ago, My first horse that I bought (which was a nut case) bolted in an open field and was heading for a large ditch. I managed to pull him up only for him to rear vertically, I wrapped my hands around his neck in case he fell back on me and when he landed he bucked me over the ditch, knocking me out, smashing my wirst (it was hanging the other direction) brused ribs, bruised face etc. thankfully I had my body protector on!!. I spent two days in hospital, had an operation on my wrist, six months out of work, 12 months of physico and I now have permanent nerve damage in that wrist. 9 months later whilst trying out another horse, it fell over a jump and I broke my other wrist, thankfully this was a straight forward break. It took me a number of years to get my nerve back but I got it back with my now brillant little mare!

Re: Worst horse fall

virginiaod- ouch!!! I have a broken wrist atm they thought i might have to have an op but luckily i don't (nothing to do with fin tho) you have made me feel better as yours was deffo worse than mine :)

'Freinds are like stars ,you can't always see them but you know they're there' Love you Fin :)

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Haha, I'm only 13 and I've already fallen off more times than I can count XD

My worst fall was in October 2010, we hacked safely about a mile or two down country lanes to some fields, where we went for a canter. I thought it would be okay, but I didn't like the ground as it was kind of funny and muddy and bumpy and wierd. When we got into the second-to-last field, we could see the gap in the hedge where we had to go through. By the time we had got to the hedge, we were still galloping (Note- the pony I was on had no brakes unless all the others stopped too, and he was 15. Ish.). Before I knew it, I was coming up to this hedge and I could see a ditch right on the hedge line. I tried to stop , but I had no luck, and by then it was too late. I must have blacked out, because I don't remember anything, but from what I can gather, this is what happened.

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Mine was some years ago now - way back when i was 16. Me and a few friends were jumping in the field and my friends massive 16.3 hh ex army horse was refusing to go over a foot high solid jump. He didnt stop just kept running out. He was a really good jumper but wasnt keen on solid fences. Me being me said ill get him over it, jumped on him rode him at a steady canter and managed to just about get him over the jump. It was a wall type jump and had no wings, he still managed to slighty evade getting his hind legs fully over, twisted himself mid jump. I turned him straight back at it to go again so he didnt have much time to run out and found my friend coming over the jump , obviously wanting to avoid a head on collission I had to change course rapidly and the already wound up large horse noticed i had become off balance due to our sudden unplanned change of direction and decided he would take off to the gate. It had been raining recently and the area round the gate was pretty muddy, the last thing i remember is suddenly seeing his neck disappear. He had lost his footing and literally did a forward roll head first with me still on him. I blacked out momentarily and i was pretty battered and brusied, how i didnt break any thing is a miracle , his full body weight rolled over me. I think the fact the ground was so soft round the gate more than likley saved both of us from serious injury.

I had a dramatic one recently too. Back in my crazy youthful days i was part of a vaulting team - gymanastics on horses. My friend who runs the local pony club as started doing vaulting sessions for the kids and asked me to help out. We were using one of the riding schools cobs just at a walk and trot and had been teaching the kids to vault on. We had had no probelms with the horse for the last 6 months (they do have to be very steady - the one we had years ago was amazing). Anyway one of the kids vaulted onto her, overdid it and literally came off the other side. This spooked the horse and she was bucking/ tried to kick the girl who came off and trying to gallop round. Someone else had fallen off the same horse a few weeks beofre not vaulting on and the same thing happened. We spent the next 10 -15 mins calming the horse and the girl who came off. I then volunteered myself to try her out to make sure she was settled before we tried anything else with the kids. She walked and trotted on the lunge fine, i walked beside her at walk and ran at trot next to her like you when you vault on with no probelms. Sat on her at walk and trot and again fine. My friend then asked do you want to try vaulting on - bearing in mind i havent done this in 13 years. Im not as young as i was but still relatively fit. It was amazing how when i got hold of the roller the technique etc all came flooding back including the silly cantering run to get you in time with the horses stride. Anyway I successfully vaulted on first time and landed nice and softly and the horse turned straight into a bucking bronco. I must have rode out a good 10 bucks beofre she did one massive one twisting herself at the same time (she was determinded i was coming off) and landed face first in the menage and straight away did an army roll to get out of the way of her flying feet. I still have a scar up my right forearm now.

Re: Worst horse fall

Re: Worst horse fall

i have a few bad ones, my first bad one was my first ever fall off an 11hh pony when i had first started riding, he spooked and of course i was only off the lead rein so i was thrown sideways, somersaulting through the air and hit the fence and winded myself.

the next one was when i was riding for about a year or so and the pony i was one was just so fresh that night i couldnt control her, so she bolted for no reason (didnt even spook just took off) across the arena bucked and spun round so when i landed she crushed me and i ended with a broken wrist :(

and the next one was with the pony in the previous one, i asked her to trot over a 50cm cross pole and she freaked out and through me off her over her head, then jumped me. didnt break anything just really scared me, as it would scare any 11yr old lol

thankfully ive been quite lucky and atm i seem to land on my feet all the time. no idea why lmao!

Re: Worst horse fall

mines not really a fall but its made me not ride since and that was my 26yr old Arab (who i had owned for 26yrs he was my life line) collapsed from underneath me last May (28th) while we were out hacking he died a couple of weeks later on the 8th June 2011, ive not ridden since this day.

As for a fall back in 2003 i had a smoke grenade (what the army use on there exercises) thrown at my horse and myself while riding on Salisbury Plain he jumped sideways onto the grass verge and i came out the side door onto hard gravel/tarmac track we were trotting at the time and i didnt have a body protecter on I fractured my pelvis and dislodged two lower vertebrae and ive had back problems ever since but this never stopped me riding let alone Endurance the only reason ive stopped riding now is due to loosing my confidence and loosing my life line.

The horse in 2003 was 17.3hh ID x TB he was also an Ex Household Calvery Black the ones you see escorting the Queen or Standing outside Horse Guards in London im only 5ft as well so long way for me to fall

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that sounds awful....you must have been so upset. It's awful to lose one you've had for such a long time. Non-horsey people don't understand but it is just like losing a family member (A really nice one, who gives hours of fun and never answers back).